You remember the hype. October 2021. Theaters were still trying to figure out if people were actually coming back. Then, Tom Hardy showed up with a CGI alien inside him and basically blew the doors off the place. Venom Let There Be Carnage didn't just survive; it thrived, grabbing a massive $90.1 million opening weekend. Honestly, for a movie that clocks in at a lean 97 minutes—practically a sprint in the world of three-hour Marvel marathons—it packed a ridiculous amount of chaos into that runtime.
Why the runtime actually worked
Most superhero movies these days feel like they’re trying to be The Godfather. They have these sprawling, multi-generational plots. But director Andy Serkis took a different route. He kept it focused. Some fans complained it was too short, but if you look at the structure, it’s basically a romantic comedy where one of the partners happens to eat heads.
The chemistry between Eddie Brock and Venom is the soul of this thing. They’re bickering over breakfast. They’re going through a literal breakup. Venom goes to a rave! It’s bizarre, but it works because Tom Hardy is fully committed to the bit. He actually records the Venom lines before the scene and plays them back in an earpiece so he can argue with himself in real time. That’s why the timing feels so snappy.
Cletus Kasady and the Carnage of it all
Woody Harrelson was born to play Cletus Kasady. We saw that teaser at the end of the first movie with the terrible wig, but they fixed it for the sequel. Cletus is a creep, a poet, and a cold-blooded killer. When he bites Eddie’s hand and gets a taste of that symbiote blood, the transformation into Carnage is genuinely terrifying.
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Carnage is different. He’s red. He’s spikey. He’s a "red one," as Venom puts it. In the comics, the Carnage symbiote is actually stronger because it bonded with Cletus's blood, and the movie reflects that power gap. The final showdown in the cathedral—with Naomie Harris as Shriek providing the sonic screams—is a visual mess in the best possible way.
The $500 Million Pandemic Win
People forget how risky this release was. Sony kept pushing the date back because of COVID-19. First it was October 2020, then June 2021, then September. When it finally landed in October 2021, it proved that the "Venom-verse" had real legs.
- Production Budget: Roughly $110 million.
- Global Box Office: Over $506 million.
- Domestic Share: $213.5 million.
Basically, it made more than five times its budget. That’s a win in any era, but in 2021? It was a miracle. It stayed in the top ten for weeks, even with heavy hitters like Shang-Chi and No Way Home lurking around the corner.
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That post-credits scene changed everything
We have to talk about the hotel room. If you walked out before the credits finished, you missed the biggest moment in the movie.
Eddie and Venom are lying in a bed in Mexico, watching a telenovela. Suddenly, the universe shifts. The room changes. The TV is now showing J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons) revealing Peter Parker’s identity. Venom licks the screen. This was the moment Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU) officially shook hands with the MCU.
It wasn't just a gimmick. It set up the multiversal "hive knowledge" concept. Venom explains to Eddie that symbiotes have billions of years of memories across different universes. That’s how this version of Venom knew who Peter Parker was, even though they’d never met in his world. It’s a bit of a "hand-wave" explanation, sure, but it bridge-built between Disney and Sony in a way fans had been begging for.
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What most people miss about Andy Serkis
Serkis is the king of motion capture (think Gollum or Caesar). He brought a level of physicality to the symbiotes that the first director didn't quite capture. You can see it in how Carnage moves—he uses his tentacles like extra limbs, turning himself into a whirlwind of blades. It’s less "big monster punching" and more "fluid horror."
The movie also leans heavily into the 80s vibe. Serkis even wanted to call it Venom: Love Will Tear Us Apart as a nod to Joy Division. They didn't go with that title, but the Hot 8 Brass Band cover of the song still plays over the credits. It’s that kind of weird, specific detail that gives the movie its personality.
The legacy of the "Red One"
While Venom: Let There Be Carnage isn't a "perfect" movie by traditional standards—the plot with Shriek feels a bit thin, and the police investigation is mostly there to move things along—it understands exactly what it is. It’s a 90-minute blast of weirdness that doesn't overstay its welcome.
If you’re looking to get the most out of a rewatch, pay attention to the background details in the St. Estes Home for Boys. There are small nods to the wider Marvel mythos hidden in the graffiti and the set design. Also, watch the way Tom Hardy handles the physical comedy in the "breakup" scene at the apartment; it’s basically silent film levels of performance.
To really appreciate where the franchise goes next, make sure you track the piece of the symbiote left behind in the MCU bar during the No Way Home mid-credits. That tiny drop of black goo is the direct bridge from this movie's ending to the future of Tom Holland's Spider-Man. If you’re building a Marvel marathon, this movie is the essential pivot point between the standalone Sony films and the wider multiverse.